CUBASE SE 3 or ProToolsLE?

[hummingbird]

I'm wondering if I should buy a different recording system. Right now I am running Tracktion2 and although it works fine for what I am doing in terms of composition, I wonder if it is sophisticated enough for the kind of mastering I need to do for film/tv. In particular, there doesn't seem to be anyway for me to edit imported audio files or figure out what frequencies a particular track is generating, etc. I'e watched a couple of studio engineers work in Cubase and Tracktion doesn't have all those bells & whistles. It looks like I could get Cubase SE3 for less than $200 Canadian.http://kellysmusic.ca/productinfo.asp?s ... 3212933I'm also running EWQLSO Silver XP Pro & EWQLSO Silver. I plan to upgrade to Gold & add Stylus or EZ Drummer in 2008.EDIT: I am PC based, on a custom-built audio computer I just got in February. Windows XP Home; Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4200+; Processor Speed -- 2.2GHz; RAM 2GB PC4200 DDR2 SDRAM (Exp. To 4GB or perhaps 8GB); 80/170/320 GB SATA drives + an external 320 GB drive for back-ups.H.NOTE: The only thing I record is vocals, guitar & the odd thing like... bagpipes. I'm mostly interested in getting my mastering capacity to the best it can be.PS - some retailers sell Cubase SE3 with an M-Box - is it good to get that as well?

[lboogie77]

Well, it sort of depends on what your current system is and how much you want to do. My reply will be sort of biased b/c I am an avid Cubaser!I have never heard of Tracktion, but from what you describe, cubase may be a great investment.As for composition, cubase works great, but again depending on what you are working on, there may be a bit of a learning curve.If I am not mistaken cubase se3 can handle 48 audio tracks and as much midi you may need (64 or 128 midi). It also has a decent score editor and midi editor. You can also export your sequences and songs to midi files and load them up anywhere.As for mixing and mastering, I know Cubase 4 has a great deal of plugins that could get you quality results. Not sure what cubase se 3 has. I used to use cubase se (first version). I did not care for the effects too much. As for using your VST's, Cubase can pretty much handle anything, ie you mentioned ewqlso silver.As for film stuff. You can import quicktime format video files and sync up your midi stuff. I dont know if any of this helps. Overall I think Cubase SE with some good outboard gear (ie compressors, eq,) can yield some good results. Im using C4 right now. It gets the job done.As for Protools LE. Protools has some of the best sounding audio I've ever heard, even the LE versions. LE vs Cubase side by side to discerning ears, you will hear some differences in the audio. Personally like the sound in LE than cubase.Now for composing and midi. I know 1 person who does midi and composing in LE. To me, it is really clumsy. You have to create an audio track, then a midi track, then an auxiliary track and route it back... blah, blah. Cubase you pick your VST, load it and play. But when it comes to mixing and mastering, I think protools has the edge.Hope I have not made an already difficult decision harder. Happy Composing!77

[lboogie77]

With your current set up you would be able to run Cubase SE 3 with a breeze. Mazz brings up a good point, You can essentially keep your current sequencer and simply use the M-Box for audio stuff, mixing etc. Setting up audio channels and recording in the M-Box is pretty simple. That way you cut your down time learning something new. I have not seen the SE + Mbox deal. To me that sounds like a great deal. When you do your upgrade to Gold and Ezdrummer, the work flow would be much easier in Cubase than in Protools. Once you get all your midi stuff down. Render the files and import them into Protools. When you are ready to do your live tracking, I would recommend doing it straight into the Mbox rather than rendering and then importing. IMHO audio just sounds better in ProTools than anything else I've heard to date.The basic FX package in the Mbox should yield some good results for mixing. In the future you may want to invest in some mastering software. But from the sound of your stuff, it seems you are on the right track! 77

[jh]

I would buy Cubase You will save tons of hard disk space (and time) in the long run when you don´t have to export/mixdown every track (been there, done that). It just drove me nuts when I had to go back and forth if I decided to change a note or two for example. I think the difference in the sound quality between Cubase and PT LE is very subtle. The quality might be even slightly better in Cubase when you don´t (necessarily) have to export/mixdown those VST tracks. Every mixdown degrades the quality. And when it comes to MIDI editing, there´s nothing better than Cubase ...well, that I know of BUT:My opinion is extremely biased as I´ve used Cubase for about 10 years - JH

[ragani]

Stick,Wow-- I hadn't realized Logic included a sampler and sample sounds too. I'm guessing you could get more samples too if you wanted, yes? And it includes a mastering and mixing plug-in? I'm not familiar with Garage Band, but I did hear (after the Rally, on the airport shuttle) from another man who spoke well of the two programs. It's not a problem-- I can learn whatever I need to. Heck, I had never used any software program before my launch into ProTools (and two other software programs)-- that was a VERY steep learning curve (due to all the engineering, production, etc. things I had to learn for my first album). I was peddling hard and fast, a wanting-to-die kind of uphill curve. Then I wanted to sleep for two years after doing that. But I did it. I envy all you guys who got started with music training in grade school (or college). I had to go through three lifetimes and careers before landing in the music business, so it's been an ongoing crash course for me. (I remember the first TAXI Rally I attended a few years ago-- it took me all weekend to figure out that the "chorus" didn't actually mean a group of people singing! Yeah, my music does have a full chorus, so that was a little confusing... and embarrassing! )Stick, sounds like the advice I got about Logic for high speed productions and ProTools for more indepth productions is a fit for you too. I think the time has come to make some additions here to my studio production programs. And I got this really nice offer to shadow the production guys at this tv/film production studio here in town. Last I recall, they were using Logic too. Guess the cards are lining up here. The universe is pointing the way. The teacher has come. So thanks for the tip. Give me a few weeks (months??) here to catch up from our India trip and the Rally, and I'll touch back about the Logic learning curve of Logic. I'm looking forward to getting some new tools for faster productions!Raags

[crs7string]

Vikki,At the risk of being a dissenter and adding potential confusion to the mix, have you looked at Sonar 7. There is a glowing review in this month's Sound On Sound. There are several very good software synths included as well as mastering plug in tools. I have used Sonar since version 1 on a PC and like all platforms it plays well sometimes and doesn't play well other times. I have found that when it isn't it is usually due to a vst plug in or a new version of a program. Stylus and East West Gold are very stable as are the Korg plug ins and EZ Drummer. MOTU Ethno Instrument is problematic.I am producing broadcast quality stuff with Sonar and like it's work flow.The lines are blurring on platforms, the major packages all are trying to keep up with one another in terms of features. One suggestion I would make is to visit the on line forums and see the tone of the folks using the various platforms. I know someone will most likely take issue with some of what I've stated. I am not emotionally involved with my DAW and feel no need to defend it. Chuck

[hummingbird]

Yes, I wondered about Sonar myself. I will look into it further

[hummingbird]

You guys are confusing me!!!!

[Casey H]

Quote:I should just MARRY an engineer so I don't have to worry about it. Sounds like the best solution!!! Hang in there, Ted! Your twisted friend,Casey

[chrisbee]

Hi Vicki - heck of a thread you started!!! You're probably getting more info than you need, but I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in anyway.I absolutely love ProTools LE. I started on Cakewalk many moons ago and have used more recent versions of Sonar too. Between my Cakewalk experience, which wasn't good, I went to CuBase for a few years. I didn't like CuBase because, to me, it's not very "Windows-ish". For a day job over the years I've done a lot of software programming for Windows based PCs and I was used to Microsoft standards for design. So I admit, I expect certain things from a program that runs on a Microsoft OS. Well, I found CuBase to be completely non-standard. It didn't flow like a Windows program - menu items and tasks in totally different places than what is normal and the help seemed VERY cryptic and hard to navigate. It was a weird atmosphere to me - I never got really comfortable. That was a few years ago, so maybe it's changed.I had a PC with an old version of Windows running on it and one day downloaded the free version of ProTools, just to see, and I loved it from the moment I started working with it. It is the most intuitive of the 4 softwares I've used - at least to me. I highly recommend it. I'm really not trying to knock CuBase. I just personally didn't like it at all - I tried, I really did. OK, I'll shut up now. cb